British globe trekker faces changed world on final leg of 27-year journey
Written by: Krisztina Fenyo and Krisztina Than
KOMAROM, Hungary (Reuters) – British former paratrooper Karl Bushby, who set out to circumnavigate the world in 1998, is in the final stages of his 27-year home trek and is struggling to cope with social media pressure in a profoundly changing world.
Bushby, 56, who set out in Chile after walking through pouring rain in northwestern Hungary, said he had a cheap plastic Instamatic camera with 35-millimeter film rolls to photograph his journey through Latin America, and the media presence was the last thing on his mind.
The important thing was to survive and find enough food before heading north across the dangerous Darien Pass between Colombia and Panama.
“There was no social media back then. So there was no reason to take footage and pictures of everything or film material…it was a whole different ball game,” Bushby told Reuters, adding that he had resisted TikTok until this year.
“It’s almost an added layer of pressure because suddenly there are so many eyes. People want to know, like you can’t hide anymore. But at the same time… it’s a huge tool.”
Bushby’s journey, called the Goliath Expedition, is undertaken without the use of motorized transportation. In 2006, he walked across the Bering Strait from Alaska to Russia, and in 2024 he swam across the Caspian Sea.
ENDLESS DELAYS
He originally expected to complete the 36,000-mile journey in eight years but experienced delays due to the 2008 financial crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical shifts and visa restrictions.
“We’ve had financial crises, wars, epidemics… All of these seriously hinder the journey of discovery… you just get on with it,” he said, adding that he expects to return home by September-October 2026.
Bushby said the mental challenges were overwhelming at times as he pushed his car with his tent and belongings along a muddy bike path.
“Sometimes the monotony is incredible. You’re in the desert and the landscape doesn’t change for days, weeks. It can be a little confusing. The same goes for the Arctic,” he said. “It feels like (the North Pole) is constantly trying to kill you.”
But returning home would pose a whole new challenge.
“The best way to finish something like this is to start something new that is very challenging and get busy as quickly as possible,” he said.
“My other passion is science literacy and being interested in science. That’s what I want to get into when I’m done here.”
(Written by Krisztina Than, edited by Ed Osmond)
